Glacier Camping in my Super Cub

This time I'm pointing the old Piper Super Cub towards the north. I'll be picking up my girlfriend Samantha along the way and then we'll be heading further north into the coastal mountain range. Along the way we'll hike through the alpine, bursting with wildflowers, breathe the crisp glacier air, and explore some of the most remote country we've ever visited. There's something special about being this deep into the rugged landscape, far from any roads or self-service, where every mile has to be earned and every view feels like a reward. After a short stop to pick up Samantha, we'll be heading north to a massive glacier we'll be exploring, located in the pacific ranges of the coastal mountains. The plan is to hike all the way to the glacier along the north side of the lake. This won't be without a few challenges. I spent some time trying to find a place to land the airplane on the north side of the river, that way we don't have to cross the river during our hike, but unfortunately there are very few options. The south side of the river has plenty of options to land, so we spent the next little bit looking at areas where the water would be the most shallow to cross with our hip waders, but the silty glacier water is not making it easy. Glacial flour or glacial milk is created when moving ice grinds rocks into fine powder. The tiny suspended particles scatter sunlight, creating some stunning colors depending on lighting. However, it makes it extremely difficult to find these shallow areas. We'll just have to give it a go when we get on the ground. But probably, yeah. Yeah, we'll leave the waders on the other side. You know what? Oh, hexagons. Goodbye. The plan from here is to unload the airplane, make some coffee, and then start walking north towards the river. But first, we want to take in the stunning scenery and fully appreciate where we are. I don't even know. So far, so good. Oh, the current is strong. Oh god. Yeah. Oh, it got deep all of a sudden. We only need to get here, across there, and then we're good. Yeah, that's not looking very good. Sam, the middle, there's no way. There's no way. Maybe, but then that's another island, and we have to cross. A little change of plans. We tried to walk across the river, and it was a little bit too deep. Yeah, it's a little too deep, so now we're gonna go along the south side of the lake, try to make it to the glacier. But on the south side, there's a bit of an obstacle. The mountain over there is quite steep, so I'm not sure if we're gonna be able to make it all the way there. We'll give it a go. Or next time, come back with a paddleboard and we can cross the river. Suddenly raining. We're making it all the way to the glacier now. We'll see about that one. Yeah, maybe at the bottom. We'll have a look there. How's it looking? Oh yeah. Yeah? Couldn't tell that river. Unfortunately, we weren't equipped properly for these river crossings, so we decided to climb the nearest mountain in search of some views. On the way up, we talked about global warming and how much this glacier has retreated over the last few years. About four years ago, I landed a de Havilland beaver just beside the glacier, and I remember it being significantly longer. After a little bit of research, I found out that in the last few years, it's been retreating at a rate of 100 meters per year. That's just over 300 feet a year. It is documented that the glacier has retreated four kilometers since the 1980s. That means the glacier would have been three-quarter way up the lake. The lake would be really small and we'd be landing right next to the glacier. I don't know what it looks like. Nice. It's cool down here. Oh, whoa, okay. That's cool. A couple skewers for the grizzlies. Just ready to go on ice. It's professional. Huge bear tracks. Yeah, they're really light sand. It's huge. Oh, absolutely. We're just calling all the grizzlies out. Guys, dinner's ready. That was a good idea. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed the video, please consider encouraging us by subscribing. If you have any questions about what you saw, please leave a message below, and I'll do my best to answer them all. See you in the next one.